DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on January 27, 2026 has been entered.
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending wherein claims 1 and 15-16 are amended.
Status of Previous Rejections
The previous rejection of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuoka et al. (EP 1 413 636) is withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s amendment to the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-14 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wittebrood (US 2014/0061286).
In regard to claim 1, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses aluminum base alloys having compositions relative to that of the instant invention as set forth below ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
Element
Instant Claim
(weight percent)
Wittebrood (‘286)
(weight percent)
Overlap
Bi + Sn
0.5 – 3.0
0.03 – 0.50 Bi
0.5 Bi
Si
0.50 – 4.0
0 – 1.2
0.5 – 1.2
Mg
0.30 – 2.5
0 – 1
0.3 – 1
Cu
0.25 – 1.5
0 – about 0.5
0.25 – about 0.5
Zn
0 – 2
0 – about 0.5
0 – about 0.5
Mn
0.05 – 1.5
0.05 – 2
0.05 – 1.5
Fe
0 – 0.70
0 – 1
0 – 0.7
Cr
0 – 0.35
0.03 – 0.4
0.03 – 0.35
Zr + V
0 – 0.25 each
0.03 – 0.3 Zr
0.03 – 0.25 Zr
Sr
0 – 5 ppm
0
0
Al
Balance
Balance
Balance
The Examiner notes that the amounts of bismuth, tin, silicon, magnesium, copper, zinc, manganese, iron, chromium, zirconium, vanadium and strontium or the aluminum base alloys disclosed by Wittebrood (‘286) overlap the amounts of the instant invention, which is prima facie evidence of obviousness. MPEP 2144.05 I. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the filing of the instant invention to select the claimed amounts of bismuth, tin, silicon, magnesium, copper, zinc, manganese, iron, chromium, zirconium, vanadium and strontium from the amounts disclosed by Wittebrood (‘286) because Wittebrood (‘286) discloses the same utility throughout the disclosed ranges.
With respect to the recitation “wherein the aluminum alloy comprises at least 0.20 wt.% excess silicon” in claim 1, at least [0016] of the instant specification and claim 5 teach that excess silicon is computed by “((wt.% Si)-((wt.% Fe)*0.333)-((wt.%Mg)/1.73)”. Since Wittebrood (‘286) teaches compositions such as one having 1.2 weight percent silicon, 0 weight percent iron and 0.3 weight percent magnesium, which would give an excess silicon of 1.0265, Wittebrood (‘286) reads on the claim.
With respect to the recitation “wherein the aluminum alloy comprises at least 1.75 mol.% of Y, wherein Y is (mol.% Q phase + mol.% Al2Cu + mol.% Mg2Si) as calculated using PANDAT and a temperature of 340°F” in claim 1, Wittebrood (‘286) teaches a substantially similar composition. Therefore, at least 1.75 mol% of Y would be expected. MPEP 2112.01 I.
In regard to claim 2, Wittebrood (‘286) does not require the presence of tin and therefore reads on the claim ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
In regard to claim 3, Wittebrood (‘286) does not require the presence of tin and therefore reads on the claim ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
In regard to claim 4, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses 0.03 to 0.50 weight percent bismuth ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
With respect to the recitation “comprising at least 0.30 wt.% excess silicon, wherein excess silicon is calculated from the formula ((wt.% Si)-((wt.% Fe)*0.333))-((wt.% Mg)/1.73)” in claim 5, Wittebrood (‘286) teaches compositions such as one having 1.2 weight percent silicon, 0 weight percent iron and 0.3 weight percent magnesium, which would give an excess silicon of 1.0265, Wittebrood (‘286) reads on the claim.
In regard to claim 6, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses 0 to 1.2 weight percent silicon, which overlaps the range of the instant invention ([0011] and [0020-0030]). MPEP 2144.05 I.
In regard to claim 7, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses 0 to 1 weight percent magnesium, which overlaps the range of the instant invention ([0011] and [0020-0030]). MPEP 2144.05 I.
In regard to claim 8, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses 0 to about 0.5 weight percent copper, which overlaps the range of the instant invention ([0011] and [0020-0030]). MPEP 2144.05 I.
In regard to claim 9, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses 0 to about 0.5 weight percent zinc, which overlaps the range of the instant invention ([0011] and [0020-0030]). MPEP 2144.05 I.
In regard to claim 10, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses 0 to 1 weight percent iron, which encompasses the range of the instant invention ([011] and [0020-0030]).
In regard to claim 11, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses 0.05 to 2 weight percent manganese, which encompasses the range of the instant invention ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
In regard to claim 12, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses up to 0.25 weight percent titanium, which encompasses the range of the instant invention ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
In regard to claim 13, Wittebrood (‘286) does not require the presence of strontium and thus it would only be present as an impurity ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
In regard to claim 14, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses 0.03 to 0.50 weight percent bismuth and does not require the presence of indium and therefore reads on the claim ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
In regard to claim 17, Wittebrood (‘286) discloses 0.03 to 0.50 weight percent lead, which overlaps the range of the instant invention ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
With respect to the recitation “comprising not greater than 0.50 mol% Mg2Sn as calculated using PANDAT and a temperature of 340°F” in claim 18, Wittebrood (‘286) does not require the presence of tin and therefore reads on the claim ([0011] and [0020-0030]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-16 and 19-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regard to claim 15, the prior art to Wittebrood (‘286) specifies an upper limit of 0.50 weight percent of bismuth (and tin) whereas instant claim 15 teaches a minimum of 0.65 weight percent of bismuth and tin and therefore claim 15 distinguishes from Wittebrood (‘286). The prior art to Matsuoka et al. (EP ‘636) teaches 0.02 to 2 mass percent of tin plus bismuth, but requires a minimum of 0.001 weight percent (or 10 ppm Strontium) whereas the upper limit of strontium in claim 15 is 5 ppm. Therefore, claim 15 distinguishes from Matsuoka et al. (EP ‘636).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-14 and 17-18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/JESSEE R ROE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759